Related stories

SWASFT said that it would continue to deliver NHS 111 services across Devon and Cornwall until the end of March 2016 and would ensure a smooth handover to the new service provider.

A statement said: ‘Whilst the trust has continued to provide high-quality clinical care, minimising referrals to 999 and A&E departments, it has not been possible to achieve the exacting performance measures in relation to call answering.’

The trust said the move follows SWSAFT’s loss of the NHS 111 contract in Somerset, which further ‘compounded this position’.

Dr Mark Sanford-Wood, interim GP medical secretary at Devon LMC, told Pulse: ‘Any destabilisation of NHS 111 services can lead to complications for GPs. The LMCs locally have been working closely with SWASFT in the way that 111 services are delivered and we will now need to have all those discussions again with another provider.’

In a joint statement sent to Pulse, NHS Kernow CCG, NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG and NHS South Devon and Torbay CCG said: ‘The three CCGs have ample time to ensure a new, high-quality service will take over. The public will not be affected by this decision and we will do everything possible to ensure a seamless transfer of service.’

NHS 111 has been beset by problems since it was introduced, attracting ongoing criticism.

Hopefully at some point it will be clear that a rolls royce first class service can not be delivered for the price of running a ford Ka. That point is likely to be in 2021 when the nhs goes private and everyone pays for everything. If you have unachievable targets, all services are doomed for failure. GP services next?

111 also require senior qualified clinicians/clinical advisors to act as call handlers when they are short on the ground, which are making them fed up of being treated like dogs bodies; so they are leaving.

NHS Direct also made nurses act as call handlers too, but in my opinion patients got a much better service when this happened, with far fewer being 'streamed' to other services, and a far higher proportion of callers being given robust advice to manage their symptoms at home. I know I preferred working that way